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With lawmakers showing little enthusiasm for an ambitious proposal by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to overhaul the byzantine U.S. tax code, Congress has to decide what to do about dozens of temporary tax breaks that expired Dec. 31. Among them is an exemption for forgiven mortgage debt that's an essential part of a broader federal effort to solve a nagging problem, namely the spate of defaults caused by the recession. Failing to renew it would cripple efforts by government and banks to mitigate the damage caused by the housing crisis. This page has repeatedly endorsed the idea of a simpler tax code that broadens the base by thinning the thicket of...

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With lawmakers showing little enthusiasm for an ambitious proposal by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to overhaul the byzantine U.S. tax code, Congress has to decide what to do about dozens of temporary tax breaks that...

WASHINGTON -- Enrollment in healthcare exchanges created under Obamacare has risen to 7.5 million and is expected to continue increasing, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a Senate committee Thursday.
Sebelius'...

WASHINGTON — Renewal of important expired federal tax benefits for homeowners took a major step forward recently, but the route to final congressional approval is beginning to look longer — and potentially bumpier — than previously expected.
Here's...

WASHINGTON — President Obama's new plan for the National Security Agency would significantly curb its authority, ending its vast collection of Americans' telephone records, but at the same time give the spy agency access to millions of cellphone records...

Maybe it was too good to be true. A rare bipartisan healthcare reform proposal backed by leaders of three major House and Senate committees is foundering because Republicans and Democrats can't agree on how to pay for it. The irony is that the measure,...

WASHINGTON — Here's some good news for homeowners worried that Congress will fail again to renew popular tax benefits for use in 2014 — especially those allowing for mortgage debt forgiveness, write-offs for energy-saving improvements and mortgage...

WASHINGTON — You may have seen reports about a major tax reform proposal floated recently by Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
But you probably didn't see the grisly list of long-standing home real estate tax...

WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Gil Kerlikowske on Thursday to be the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, allowing the White House "drug czar" to take on his new post overseeing the Border Patrol.
Kerlikowske came to the White House...

How's the U.S. economy doing?
If you're rich, the answer is "fabulously."
Here are some data points from Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial in Chicago. "Spending at luxury retailers has come back," she told the Senate...

President Obama’s pick to assume oversight of his signature health law received added bipartisan support Wednesday as more Republicans joined Democrats backing her nomination for secretary of Health and Human Services.
The growing support all but...

It's not surprising that former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's astonishing misconception about Social Security should be seconded by conservatives. After all, his assertion that the program adds to the federal deficit (aired in his new book,...

A Senate panel Wednesday recommended approval of President Obama’s pick to oversee implementation of the Affordable Care Act, all but assuring Sylvia Mathews Burwell’s confirmation as the next secretary of Health and Human Services.
Eight Republicans...

President Obama’s pick to take over the administration of his signature health law drew support Thursday from several Republicans in her first appearance before a congressional committee, signaling her likely confirmation to head the Department of...

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board opens its latest screed against the 2010 healthcare law Monday by paraphrasing H.L. Mencken as follows: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the cynicism and self-dealing of the American political...

Since Mitt Romney lost to President Obama on Nov. 6, the conventional wisdom has been that the Republican Party is in trouble. The less conventional truth is that it is the Democrats whose chances many be more bleak.
Yes, Republicans are currently...

WASHINGTON -- A key House committee chairman said his panel would take a "more thoughtful" approach to legislation allowing states to force retailers to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases.
His comments signaled that momentum from...

WASHINGTON -- The ousted top official of the Internal Revenue Service will appear before a House committee Friday morning, his first public appearance since controversy erupted last week over how the agency mishandled applications for tax-exempt status...

Appearing before lawmakers a week before the deadline to raise the debt limit, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on Thursday warned that the uncertainty caused by the fiscal stalemate was stressing financial markets and could "deeply damage" the...

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on Thursday would not commit to paying interest on government bonds if the debt limit is not raised, saying it would be extremely difficult to choose which bills to pay if there is not enough money.
On top of...